The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1887-10-11

ONE of the principles upon which
the Reform party conducted It's CAM
paign in the last election was the IN
dependence of the Hawaiian Islands.
1t is a plank that will wear well. Al
most any argument that may be
brought to bear against it will apply
with equal force in opposition to any
other destiny proposed for the cOun-
try. For commercial reasons the
Islands are better as they are than
they would be as a dependency OF
any foreign Power Even in the mat
ter of national security the Islands
are safer as an Independent state than
if they were merely a naval point of
vantage for one of the Powers. Dc
cupying the position the country
does. it is the interest of all the other
maritime Powers, as against that of
any one of them, to maintain the
neutrality of Hawaii. With the pros
pect of some means of shipping trans
portation between the Atlantic and
the Pacific, across one Of the necks OF
land in the Central American region,
there is no partition of territory in
the Pacific that may be agreed upon
between the Powers, which would
not make this group the lions share
of the whole, so that whatever nation
held it would incur the lasting jeal
ousy of every other nation having in
terests in this ocean. For this and
other reasons that might be stated, it
is not probable that Hawaiian indie
pendence will be in any danger from
foreign aggression for the present
at least. As to our commercial in
terests, there can be little question
that independence is better for the
Islands than any other condition.
This proposition may seem to be
weak taken simply in conjunction
with present circumstances, but hav-
ing regard to probabilities of the
future, it will likely prove sound.
Standing in the track of the com
MERGE of all nations, it would be a
misfortune to the Islands to be bound
by the commercial legislation made
for distant coasts of whatever nation
owned this country. While com
MERGE with the United States must
for long time, probably forever. be
regarded as the most valuable reli-
ance for Hawaiian prosperity, it
would be foolish for this country to
be frightened into surrendering its
independence by threats of the reel
procity treaty with that nation being
abrogated. Changes in the fiscal
policy of the United States, which
seem to be fastening on to adoption,
would deprive these Islands Of all
the special advantages they have
under that treaty. There is nothing
in the discussions of Hawaiian af-
fairs in the American press to indi
cate that the Islands are wanted by
that nation, but a great deal to assure
us that she will ever be the foremost
protector of our independence. Only
in the event of this Kingdom proving
unable to govern itself does American
opinion favor picking it up. There
was, however, never a better prospect
of the problem of self government
being satisfactorily worked out than
at the present time. The late election
proved that all nationalities living
here are agreed upon sustaining
policy of administrative economy and /.
internal improvement With the con /
troll of affairs fully in the peoples
hands, there is little danger that such /
a policy will not be carried out. /
Those who are trying to foment dis
content with the existing arrange /
ments, have started an agitation for
ON the presumption that I
the country is incapable of self-gov- /
eminent. How would they have the
country annexed if it was incapable
of governing itself ? 1t could not be
to the Union as a State, and
even as Territory its citizens would
have many of the functions to per-
form, which they had been declared
incapable of exercising under indie
nationhood